Skyclan's Return
by Eaglestorm of SunClan
Summary: Firestar has received a new prophecy, If the Thunder, River, Wind and Shadow are to survive, the Sky must return to house them. What could it mean, and why?
1. Chapter 1

**Hey people, Eaglestorm here! I'm finally gonna start my second story, and I hope you all enjoy it!**

Prologue

A ginger furred tom stood tall in a large clearing, shrouded in moonlight. Silverpelt glistened high above the four massive trees that stood tall over the small grassy area.

"Firestar!" A voice mewed.

The ginger tom looked up in surprise, "Cloudstar? Is that you?"

A pale tom with white patched like clouds and bright blue eyes emerged from the shadows, "Yes, it is me."

Firestar walked up to Cloudstar and licked him on the ear, "It's good to see you and all, but why are you visiting me in my dream?"

Cloudstar's voice changed from it's usual tone to a deeper and wise tone, "_If the Thunder, River, Wind and Shadow are to survive, the Sky must return to house them."_

Firestar almost fell backwards in surprise, "What? Tell me more!" But Cloudstar was already fading away into darkness. "No! Wait! Don't leave yet!" But Firestar's pleading was pointless. Cloudstar was gone.

Firestar woke with a jolt. Sandstorm was prodding his side lightly, "You were yowling in your sleep, so I came to check on you." She explained, "What's wrong?"

Firestar shook his head, "Nothing, i'm fine. It was just a bad dream." He padded out of his den and through the Thunderclan camp entrance. He needed to take a walk to clear his head.

_What could Cloudstar have meant? I already restored Skyclan, so what more could they need! Are they in trouble?_

He eventually made it to the Sunningrocks and sat down on the sunbathed boulders. _If the Thunder, River, Wind and Shadow are to survive, the Sky must return to house them. What could it mean? _He thought about it for what felt like a moon and finally came to a conclusion,

"Skyclan must return."

**Sorry for a short first chapter, but hey, it's just the prologue. I promise the future chapters will be longer. I am accepting OC's right now, so you can submit those if you want, and as always, REVIEW!**


	2. Chapter 2

**I have returned (Finally), and i'm here to write another chapter! Please note, this story takes place before the Last Hope, (Firestar is alive) but I've added some OC's to make it more interesting.**

**Reviews:**

**Darkwing45 - Well, you may be in luck!**

**Flameheart - I'm pretty excited about writing this myself!**

**Chapter time :D**

Chapter 1

Talonpaw woke with a start. He had experienced strange dreams the night before, many of which involving death. He shook his head to clear it of the dark thoughts that he had been given by his dreams.

_No time to worry about that now, it's time for a new day of training in Thunderclan! _He thought optimistically.

Talonpaw was a small, but quick on his feet apprentice of Thunderclan. He had only been an apprentice for one moon, but was determined to become a warrior as fast as possible. He had sky blue eyes and a black muzzle. The fur that covered the front of his body was light grey and flecked with red, while the rear of his pelt was a red-orange color.

He grunted and stood up gingerly, stretching his limbs.

"You're such a showoff, stretching your muscles like that." A voice mewed from behind him. Talonpaw turned and shuffled his paws,

"I didn't mean to, Flowerpaw." Talonpaw apologized. Flowerpaw was a sleek-furred she cat, with a light brown pelt, and snow white paws. She liked to tease Talonpaw about just about everything, but they were still good friends.

"Come on," Flowerpaw mewed, "Let's go. Berrynose and Brambleclaw said we need to go on sunrise border patrol with them, and it's sunrise right now!" She then dashed from the apprentice den into the Thunderclan camp.

_I just got up! _Talonpaw thought irritably. He rolled his eyes and followed his friend into the clearing. The Thunderclan Camp was bustling with cats going about their business. Mousefur was sunning herself just outside the elder's den, Firestar was speaking to Sandstorm on the Highledge, Brindlefeather, a black she-cat with a white muzzle and green eyes, was taking a vole from the fresh-kill pile.

_She's eating quite early. _Talonpaw thought with amusement. He looked ahead of him and saw Flowerpaw standing with her mentor, Berrynose, and Talonpaw's mentor, Brambleclaw.

"Come on slowpoke! We're all waiting for you!" Flowerpaw called over to him.

"Coming!" Talonpaw replied. He sprinted over to join the three cats.

"Glad to see you could make it." Brambleclaw teased. Talonpaw would be offended, but the broad shouldered tom had a good-humored glint in his eye.

"Oh come on, I'm really not that late!" Talonpaw protested.

"Oh blah, blah, blah! That's all it it with you! Let's get moving!" Flowerpaw exclaimed.

"She's right," Berrynose chimed in, "We're late enough as it is."

Brambleclaw dipped his head in agreement, "Fine." He turned away and padded through the gorse tunnel and into the forest, soon to be followed by the other three cats.

Talonpaw started into the sky as he emerged from the dense tunnel. It was a bright and clear day of greenleaf. The sun shone down through the branches of the tall trees, scorching his fur.

"It's a great day." Flowerpaw commented.

"It'll only be great if we don't run into trouble by the Thunderpath. Shadowclan has been acting up lately." Berrynose meowed gravely.

"Oh, lighten up!" Talonpaw joked.

Brambleclaw rested his tail on Talonpaw's head, "You need to start taking things more seriously."

Talonpaw stopped where he was and looked up at his mentor, "Tell that to Flowerpaw! She takes nothing seriously!"

"You also need to be less sensitive." Flowerpaw mewed. Talonpaw made a frustrated face and kicked a couple of leaves at the light brown pelted she-cat. She jumped backwards and growled in mock anger. Talonpaw looked to where the two apprentices mentor's had been, but the two cats had disappeared.

"I guess they just went ahead." Talonpaw reassured himself. He glanced around at his surroundings and saw no sign of the two warriors.

"Let's follow their scent. They can't have gotten far." Flowerpaw mewed.

"Good idea." Talonpaw agreed. He was trying not to show Flowerpaw that he was getting scared. He opened his mouth to taste the air, and just as he thought, caught scent of his mentor and Flowerpaw's, but there was another scent that hung in the air, and it was fresh! The scent of a fox!

"Flowerpaw, do you-"

"Yeah, I smell it. We need to find Brambleclaw and Berrynose fast!" Talonpaw nodded in agreement and dashed off in the direction of their mentor's scents. He glanced back and saw Flowerpaw sprinting behind him. Talonpaw kept his mouth open as he ran so that he could follow the scent, but the scent of fox stayed just as strong as it was before. Had the fox followed them? Soon they started to hear yowls from up ahead.

"They're fighting the fox!" Talonpaw mewed urgently.

"Well, duh." Flowerpaw retorted.

The two cats burst through the bushes and saw their mentor's locked in combat with a _huge _fox. The red animal had Berrynose pinned to the ground and was aiming a blow at the cat's throat. Brambleclaw rushed in to stop him but the fox raked his muzzle with a free paw.

"I need to help," Talonpaw mewed to Flowerpaw, "So back me up if anything goes wrong!"

Flowerpaw looked at him as if he were some sort of mouse-brain, "You're going to help them fight off a fox? How mouse-brained can you-" Flowerpaw continued speaking, but Talonpaw didn't hear her, because he was already running at full speed towards Berrynose's attacker. Talonpaw let out a fierce yowl as he leapt onto the fox's back. He dug his claws into the fox's sides and clung on. The impact threw the fox off balance, sending it toppling over into the dirt.

Berrynose stood back up, "Thanks." He mewed gratefully.

"Don't thank him yet!" Brambleclaw said, "We still need to chase it off!" The dark brown tabby turned to the fox and raked it's muzzle with his forepaw. The fox yelped in pain and sprinted away into the underbrush.

"You guys did it!" Flowerpaw trotted out from the bush she had been hiding in.

"Sure did!" Talonpaw mewed, "Good job backing me up though."

"You didn't even need backing up!" Flowerpaw protested.

Brambleclaw flicked Talonpaw's ear with his tail, "Don't gloat. Let's get back to camp."

The group soon made it back to the Thunderclan camp. Sunhigh had come and gone, and it was getting late, but the two apprentices were still filled with energy. They were telling everyone the story of their great adventure. Soon enough, however, it was time for the cats to go to sleep in their dens.

But just before Talonpaw could enter the apprentice den, Firestar padded up to him, "Talonpaw?"

"What is it, Firestar?"

"I have a mission for you and Flowerpaw."

**So yeah, that was chapter 1 of this new story. If you're enjoying this story so far, then check out my other story, **_**Heat of the Blaze! **_**I'm still accepting OC's and I will be until I say i'm not, so feel free to submit some, and one last thing. The first one to guess the reference involving Talonpaw gets digital cookies! That's it for now, and don't forget to REVIEEEEW!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Heh heh. It's been quite a while since I last posted, and I'm sorry for that. I've been working on a story with my friends a lot lately, and it won't be ready for a good while, but you have something to look forward to I guess. It takes place before Heat of the Blaze, and follows the story explained in chapter 8 of that story.**

**Reviews**

**VolcanicPizza - I'll try to use your OC once they make it to Skyclan!**

**NightyNightOwl - Thank you for pointing those things out. I will make sure to look out for them in the future, however I would like to keep my OC's if that's okay. I believe it adds a bit of originality.**

**Flameheart - That's a good guess for the reference, but I just realized the reference won't make any sense until Talonpaw receives his warrior name. I'll ask again when we get there. I'll use your OC's as well.**

**Birdflame - I'll use your OC's too once they get to Skyclan! **

Chapter 2

"Talonpaw and Flowerpaw," Firestar mewed, "You two are coming with me to the Moonpool."

Talonpaw's eyes widened, "Us? Coming with you to the Moonpool?"

"Well, yes." Firestar confirmed, "That _is_ what I just told you."

"Er-" Talonpaw could feel his cheeks burning. "Yes Firestar, but why are you bringing us?"

"Well, all apprentices need to go at some point, and I have had… a dream. I need to seek out help from Starclan to find out what it means." Firestar told them.

"Are we going tonight?" Flowerpaw asked, "I mean, it is going to be moonhigh soon so we would have to go quickly.

Firestar nodded his acknowledgement, "I already thought of that, however, the answer is simple. We just need to go there fast." There was a hint of amusement in his voice.

Talonpaw almost squealed with excitement. "So, we need to get traveling herbs from Jayfeather?"

Flowerpaw looked at Talonpaw and smirked. "If we disturb his sleep, he'll probably rip off our pelts. I think we're better off getting help from Leafpool."

"Fair enough." Talonpaw laughed. Jayfeather was known for having a bit of a short temper, so what Flowerpaw said might not be one hundred percent untrue.

"Settle down you two. You should show more respect for the medicine cat of this clan." Firestar scolded them, "Now, let's go see him." Firestar and the two apprentices padded over to the medicine cat's den. The silver shape of Jayfeather was sprawled out in his moss nest, his legs going out in all directions. He was snoring softly. On the other side of the den, Leafpool was sleeping peacefully, curled up neatly on her nest.

"Okay, we've got a fifty-fifty chance of who wakes up easier. You try to wake up Jayfeather, and I'll try Leafpool." Flowerpaw decided.

"Hey! Why do I need to get Jayfeather up? You did that on purpose." Talonpaw mewed indignantly. He could tell Firestar was about to scold them again, but he was stopped by some movement in front of them. Jayfeather groaned and opened his eyes. His tired expression turned to irritation.

"Brace yourself." Flowerpaw whispered in Talonpaw's ear. Talonpaw responded by covering her mouth with his tail.

"Ugh." Jayfeather grunted, "What is it? Whatever it is, can't it wait 'till morning?"

Firestar purred lightly in amusement, "Jayfeather, liven up. We're going to the Moonpool, and we need traveling herbs."

Jayfeather shot to his feet, his eyes widening. "Right now? What happened?"

"Don't worry about it. I had a dream, and I need to see what Starclan has to say." Firestar reassured him.

Jayfeather slumped back down. "What is it with you and getting dreams that medicine cats should get." There was a slight joking tone in his voice.

Firestar shrugged, "Jayfeather, we haven't got much time. We need the herbs before moonhigh passes." Jayfeather nodded and collected the healing herbs from the store. He spread out an assortment of leaves in front of Firestar and the apprentices.

"Make sure to chew them into a pulp, then swallow it. Make sure not to swallow just the leaf, otherwise it won't have any effect and it can get caught in your throat. Flowerpaw bent down and lapped up a few leaves, only to spit the back out and cough violently.

"Aw, those are disgusting!" She spat.

"Oh, come on, don't be a scaredy-mouse." Talonpaw teased. He bent down and lapped up his leaves. A fowl taste filled his mouth, almost like crowfood combined with mouse-bile and everything else disgusting. He retched and spat out the leaves.

"Look who's the scaredy-mouse now!" Flowerpaw laughed.

"I'll show you who's the scaredy-mouse!" Talonpaw scrunched up his face and forced himself to chew the leaves into a pulp. He swallowed them reluctantly, then looked to see Flowerpaw had done the same.

"I g-guess neither of us are scaredy-mouses." She panted. Talonpaw nodded in agreement. He suddenly noticed that both Firestar and Jayfeather had been watching them. He stumbled backwards in embarrassment.

"Um- let's go." Talonpaw stammered. He could tell Flowerpaw was struggling not to laugh, and Firestar just stood there with a grin on his face. Strangely enough, Jayfeather had just laid down and gone back to sleep.

"Huh." Flowerpaw mused, "I guess he really was tired."

The group of three set off towards where Firestar told them the Moonpool was located. The stream that marked the border between Thunderclan and Windclan lead to it. You would follow it a short distance out of clan territories to a path that led to the Moonpool. Supposedly the starlight and moonlight reflected very well in the Moonpool, which was one of the reasons it was chosen to be a place sacred to Starclan.

"We made it to the stream." Firestar told the two apprentices. They had arrived at the small stream that Talonpaw had seen many times during the day, but never at night. Even now, he could see the stars shining endlessly in the water, almost as if it housed an entirely different sky that lay just beneath the water's surface.

"It's amazing at night." Flowerpaw mewed, in awe of the amazing reflections.

"Even more so at the Moonpool. The stream is nothing compared to what you'll see there." Firestar chirped, "Now let's get going. We don't want to miss our chance." Firestar started sprinting up the slope, effortlessly pushing through the undergrowth. Talonpaw attempted to follow him, but the brambles tore at his pelt.

_I need to keep up! _Talonpaw pushed on, ignoring the thorns that clung to his fur. Flowerpaw ran beside him, giving him a new motivation to go faster. After a few painful seconds he burst out into a clearing filled with grass and ferns. The ground fell away sharply just a few fox-lengths in front of where he skidded to a halt.

"Look out!" Talonpaw heard a yell from behind him, seemingly approaching rapidly. Flowerpaw emerged to his left at full speed, with no sign of slowing down. She skidded towards the drop, but couldn't stop herself in time. She started slipping over the edge, trying to grip the ground with her claws. Just before Flowerpaw fell, Firestar leaped out of the bushes, grabbing Flowerpaw firmly by the scruff before backing away from the cliff and setting her down, panting.

_That was incredibly fast. _Talonpaw thought, amazed. He wondered what Firestar might be able to do in a battle if he was this quick now.

"You need be more careful, Flowerpaw. You almost died." He declared. Flowerpaw seemed too stunned to speak and just sat there breathing heavily.

_If… if Firestar wasn't there, Flowerpaw would be dead. _Talonpaw thought grimly, _I just sat there petrified. If I do that when one of my clanmates is in trouble, and there's nobody else there to save them… no. I won't let myself do that again._

"You almost fell into the Moonpool." Firestar mewed. "It's right down there." The ginger tom angled his ears down to where Flowerpaw had almost fallen.

"You mean-" Talonpaw sprinted over to the cliff and looked down. Flowerpaw shook herself and joined him on the edge of the cliff.

"Wow." she said. Before the was a path speckled with paw prints from many cats before them, that lead down to a sparkling pool of water. It looked like the moon itself lay inside the pool, illuminating the water almost like the sun. On the back of the pool there were two small waterfalls pouring into the pool, creating a light splashing sound.

"Let's move." Firestar urged. "We haven't got much time." Talonpaw looked in the sky and saw that Firestar was right. The moon was almost vertical in the sky above them. The ran down the path to a small stone beach by the water.

"So, what do we do now?" Flowerpaw asked.

"When the moon lights up the pool, you need to drink a small amount of the water. You should be transported into a dream then." Firestar explained. Just then, the moonlight hit the water at just the right angle. The water reflected an enormous amount of light, making the whole hollow shine.

"Now!" Firestar yelled. Talonpaw bent down and lapped up a bit of water. For a few seconds nothing happened.

"Firestar? Nothing hap-" The edge of Talonpaw's vision became engulfed in darkness, and it slowly crept inward until he could see nothing but black.

**Aaaand… there's chapter 2! Still accepting OC's and stuff, and I'm also planning on this being a fairly long story, so don't expect them to go off on their journey right away. Don't forget to REVIEW!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey people! I'm updating again, and I'll try to do it more often now too! Once I finish this chapter I'll be doing one for Heat of the Blaze, and then I'll go on a rotation.**

**Reviews**

**jurobii - Thanks for the advice, and I'm glad you're liking it. I'm also a fan of Talonpaw and Flowerpaw's relationship.**

Chapter 3

Talonpaw opened his eyes to find himself standing in the Thunderclan camp.

_What happened? Did I… did we ever leave? _He looked up to see that the sky was pitch black, but there were no stars shining down, and no moon. The Thunderclan camp was completely empty except for him.

"Flowerpaw?" He called, "Anyone?" He received no answer. Talonpaw sprinted through the various dens,looking around desperately. He found nothing.

He heard a faint voice coming from somewhere around him. "_If the Thunder, River, Wind and Shadow are to survive, the Sky must return to house them._" It mewed quietly, or at least he thought it mewed. He couldn't tell for sure if the voice was even of a cat.

"Who is it?" He asked as he searched for the one who had spoken. Once again, he received no answer. Frustrated, he pelted out the thorn tunnel, ignoring the brambles scraping his fur. He whipped around, but still no sign off the cat.

The cat spoke again, only louder this time, as if Talonpaw had come closer. "_If the Thunder, River, Wind and Shadow are to survive, the Sky must return to house them._"

"Who are you? What are you trying to tell me?" Talonpaw called again. As he expected, his words were met with silence. He kept searching, running all around the camp. Now and again the voice would say the same thing, but Talonpaw still had no idea what in Starclan it meant.

_The only way to find whoever is saying this stuff is to follow their voice. If it gets louder, I know they're closer. _Talonpaw shook his head angrily. _Of course they are. I'm no mouse-brain! _Doubling back to where he had heard the voice loudest, he stood with his ears perked to hear the next time it spoke.

"The Sky must return." The voice said, closer than ever. The voice was coming from his left. He whirled around and pushed a gorse bush to the side to reveal a gray she-cat. Her face was ridden with scars and it was smushed in like she had been sleeping with it on the ground her whole life. She looked old, but not too old. He guessed cats of Starclan would not age like cats in the living world.

"Who are you and what are you trying to tell me?" He pressed.

"I have come with a message from Starclan." She explained in a deep, raspy voice. "My name is Yellowfang."

"But, why have you come to me?" Talonpaw asked her.

"Well, you have a great destiny." Yellowfang meowed ominously. Her voice suddenly became smoother and smarter, as if many moons of wisdom lay within this cat. "_If the Thunder, River, Wind and Shadow are to survive, the Sky must return to house them."_

"You've already said that! Now tell me what it means!" Talonpaw protested.

"All in due time, Talonpaw." Yellowfang said, "For now, I must leave you."

_She can't leave yet! I have to know what she means! _"Don't go yet! I need you to explain it!" Talonpaw called to her. Yellowfang shook her head and slowly disappeared into a cloud of bright mist.

"Yellowfang!" He shouted after the she-cat, but it was no use. She had already vanished completely. Here words still hung in the air like dark clouds threatening to start a storm. 'The Sky must return to house them'. Talonpaw could figure that the Thunder, River, Wind, and Shadow were the four clans, but who was the Sky? Could there be a fifth clan he had never heard of?

"Talonpaw! Wake up you lazy furball!" An impatient voice was meowing at him from somewhere. His eyelids shot open and he saw light streaming down into his eyes. He could see the face of Flowerpaw staring down at him.

He leaped to his feet, "I was sleeping all night?" He gulped, hoping he hadn't missed anything.

"Don't worry, it's just past sunrise." Firestar reassured him. "You have nothing to worry about."

Talonpaw sighed with relief, "Oh yeah," He started, "Firestar, did you find out what you were hoping for?"

"Even if I did, I can't tell anyone but the Medicine Cats until we figure out what to make of it and how we're going to deal with it." Firestar replied simply.

"Oh, right." Talonpaw mewed, slightly embarrassed. The three cats set on their way back to the Thunderclan camp.

"So," Flowerpaw whispered while they were walking, "What did you dream about?"

"Like I'd tell you!" Talonpaw grunted. His expression changed to confusion, "Actually, I couldn't really tell you what I dreamt about if I wanted to. I… I'm not totally sure what I saw." Talonpaw wasn't sure what to make of his dream. It all seemed so fuzzy to him now. He couldn't help thinking that it would end up being very important, but he really didn't want to worry about it.

"Well, I dreamt of this weird cat I had never seen before. They said something about the sky returning, but I don't remember the sky ever being gone." Flowerpaw added.

Talonpaw mrrowed with laughter. Flowerpaw's jokes put him back in a better mood. Looking in front of them, Firestar was walking briskly and not saying anything. Whatever Firestar had seen in his dream, if he even got one, had rattled him. Talonpaw decided not to say anything to his leader. He felt that pressing the subject would only make it worse, and maybe get him in trouble.

By the time they all made it back to camp it was nearly sunhigh. As they made it through the thorn tunnel, Talonpaw was relieved to find that every cat was there, just as they had left them. _At least I know that's not what my dream was telling me._ He thought.

"Hey guys!" Talonpaw saw his friend Fallowpaw bounding towards them. Fallowpaw was a large gray tom with black markings and bright yellow eyes. He had been an apprentice for a moon longer than Talonpaw and Flowerpaw, but he had been a good friend to them in the nursery. Thornclaw, Fallowpaw's mentor, was padding over to them.

"Come on, Fallowpaw. It's time for battle training with Seedpaw and Poppyfrost." Thornclaw told his apprentice.

"Oh, right." Fallowpaw said, "Uh, bye guys!"

Firestar turned to Talonpaw and Flowerpaw, "You two should get some rest after that, but make sure to be quick about it, we need you for apprentice duties." Firestar went off to speak with Brambleclaw, leaving Talonpaw and Flowerpaw standing in the clearing.

"Did he say if we could get fresh-kill?" Flowerpaw asked.

"I would assume so." Talonpaw confirmed. He walked over to the fresh-kill pile and picked out a plump vole. The prey was running very well this Greenleaf, though Talonpaw was worried his clanmates would become too fat to hunt after enough time. He sat down near the apprentices den next to Flowerpaw.

"Man, even though we slept most of the night, I feel really tired." She yawned.

"Yeah, same here. I guess dreams of Starclan don't actually restore your energy. It's almost like you don't go to sleep at all!" Talonpaw agreed.

"Imagine being Firestar! The elders say Starclan gave him loads of dreams back in the day. I wonder how he got by without falling asleep on patrol?" Flowerpaw mewed.

Talonpaw purred with amusement. He took one last bite of his juicy vole and stood up. He stumbled tiredly into the apprentices den and laid down in his nest to sleep. All he could hear before he went unconscious was the light sound of his breathing.

After what felt like an instant, Talonpaw opened his eyes. He stood up, and to his surprise, Flowerpaw was still asleep! _Time for me to finally wake her up! Revenge! _He prodded her back with his front paw.

"Hey, Flowerpaw, wake up!" Her eyes slowly stretched open.

"What? already?" She protested tiredly.

"Yes, already." Talonpaw mewed smugly, still prodding her.

"Well then you can at least stop that!" She ordered. She leaped to her feet and sprinted out of the den. Talonpaw followed close behind her. He emerged into the clearing to once again see Flowerpaw standing with both their mentors.

"Late again, I see?" Brambleclaw mewed.

"What?" Talonpaw sputtered, "I woke up before her!"

"Whatever." Berrynose put in, "We're going to tell you two what we're doing for training today."

"That's right." Brambleclaw agreed, "Today you and Flowerpaw are going to spar with each other. After the sparring, you will each receive individual training from your mentor." He flicked his tail towards Berrynose and himself.

"Now then, let's go." Berrynose meowed. The cream colored warrior turned and padded towards the thorn tunnel. Brambleclaw nodded to the apprentices and followed him.

"I am so going to destroy you!" Flowerpaw teased.

"You wish!" Talonpaw retorted. Any worry he had before about his dream had now vanished completely. Now, he had his sights set on becoming a warrior once again.

_I won't let anything stop me!_

**There we go! That's chapter 3! Make sure to give me OC's and your thoughts on the story so far! Remember that now that I've done this chapter I'll post on Heat of the Blaze, then back to this story. I don't think I have the patience to write more than two stories at once, so until I finish these I may not start another. DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello, it's been a little while, but I'm posting again, so yeah! Enjoy the chapter!**

Chapter 4

"Slow slug!" Flowerpaw yowled back at Talonpaw as they raced through the trees. A cool greenleaf breeze blew through the forest, ruffling Talonpaw's fur. The sun shown down on the soft, grassy ground, casting an orange glow over the undergrowth.

"That's what you think!" Talonpaw called, putting on a burst of speed. He started pulling ahead, relishing the feeling of the warm sun on his pelt. Talonpaw, Flowerpaw, and their mentors were on their way to the mossy clearing where they often trained. They had been told they were battle training against each other, and Talonpaw was excited. He had never fought Flowerpaw before, and he was wondering how tough it would be.

"Hey!" Flowerpaw protested when Talonpaw passed her. She ducked under a low hanging branch and darted onto a log to gain higher ground.

_Ow! _A twig hit Talonpaw's face, temporarily blocking his vision. He felt something catch his leg, causing him to stumble and fall over in a heap of dust and fur. Flowerpaw skidded to a halt and bounded over to him.

"You okay?" She asked it sincerely, but there was a hint of amusement and smugness in her voice.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Talonpaw replied, climbing to his feet. He dusted himself off with his tail and began to lick his chest fur in embarrassment.

"There you are!" Berrynose exclaimed, pushing through a clump of bracken. "Don't run off like that!"

"If I remember correctly," Mewed Brambleclaw, emerging behind the cream-colored tom, "You were quite the rebellious apprentice yourself."

"I was not!" Berrynose mewed indignantly.

_Right, Berrynose was Brambleclaw's apprentice. _Talonpaw remembered.

"Sorry, Berrynose." Flowerpaw apologized innocently.

Berrynose sighed, "Let's get to training. The clearing is just up ahead."

"Right!" Talonpaw agreed. He sprinted past the familiar undergrowth and trees. He soon emerged in the clearing, where he stopped to wait for the other cats. Flowerpaw soon erupted from the bushed and almost toppled Talonpaw over.

"What did I tell you?" Berrynose asked them when he and Brambleclaw followed, "Don't go running off!"

"It's okay," Brambleclaw reassured Berrynose, "It's just something young cats do, especially in greenleaf.

Berrynose just let out a small snort and turned to the apprentices, "So, as you've been told, you'll be having a sparring match with one-another."

"Each of you will start three fox-lengths away from each other, and when we say go, you'll both attack." Brambleclaw added, "But remember, claws sheathed, we don't need any injuries here."

"Alright Flowerpaw, are you ready to get destroyed?" Talonpaw challenged, turning to her.

"As if! You'll never beat me!" The light colored apprentice replied, sheathing and unsheathing her claws.

"Ahem." Brambleclaw snorted, "Are you two ready to start?"

"Er, yeah!" Talonpaw mewed. He stood erect and turned to face his mentor.

"Now, both of you take your positions." Berrynose commanded.

_I'm so going to win this! _Talonpaw thought confidently. He padded away from the two warriors until he was the correct distance from Flowerpaw. He dropped into a crouch, his belly fur brushing the bright green grass.

"You two ready?" Brambleclaw questioned. A cool breeze blew through the clearing, ruffling Talonpaw's fur. "Begin!"

Talonpaw gathered his strength in his haunches and pounced, sailing towards Flowerpaw. She slid back to avoid his initial attack, then darted forward again to sweep out his legs.

_She's good! _Talonpaw thought, jumping to dodge Flowerpaw's attack. He landed neatly on the ground and batted at her head, landing multiple clean hits. She stumbled backwards, but quickly regained her balance and leaped at him again, hissing.

"Flowerpaw!" Berrynose called to Flowerpaw. The warrior nodded, and it was as if there was a secret exchange between them. Unable to interpret what Berrynose had meant, Talonpaw just braced himself to block the apprentice's next move. Instead of just a normal attack, however, Flowerpaw whipped around and landed right in front of him, then delivered a strong attack to Talonpaw's shoulder, sending him sliding backwards.

_What's she planning? _Using her opening, Flowerpaw slithered behind him and swept out both of his back legs. _Ow! _Talonpaw collapsed on the ground, his front legs giving way as well. Flowerpaw had him on his back with her paw on his neck within moments.

"How do you think you'll get out of this one?" She crowed.

"I guess I won't…" Talonpaw replied slyly. Brambleclaw had taught him a certain move during their previous battle training session, and he was about to try it out.

"Wait, what do you mean by- hey!" Flowerpaw yowled with confusion as Talonpaw erupted from beneath her. He threw her off of him, sending her flying into the grass. She landed with a hard _thump, _then struggled to her feet and braced herself for another fight.

_She hasn't realized yet! _Talonpaw thought. While Flowerpaw was recovering, Talonpaw had crept behind her. He reared up on his hind legs and slammed both of his front paws hard down onto her back. He purred with satisfaction as he made contact, feeling Flowerpaw collapse under his attack. When the dust had cleared, Flowerpaw had disappeared. _Where'd she go? _Talonpaw whipped around in search of his opponent, but saw nothing.

"Don't think I'd go down that easily!" Talonpaw heard Flowerpaw's voice from a bush near him. He turned just soon enough to see Flowerpaw springing towards him, her teeth bared.

_Oh, I've really done it now. _Talonpaw thought. He crouched down in an attempt to avoid her attack, but he knew that she would be able to land it easily.

"Brambleclaw!" Yowled a voice from outside of the clearing. At this, Flowerpaw stopped her attack, but she still rammed right into Talonpaw, causing them to roll away in a heap of fur.

"Could it have killed you to stop completely?" Talonpaw complained, spitting out some dirt.

"How am I supposed to stop mid air, you stupid furball!" Flowerpaw countered.

"Whatever," Talonpaw mewed. "What's going on here?" He turned to look at the cat who had called for Brambleclaw to see a very startled looking Mousewhisker panting in the middle of the clearing. Flowerpaw padded over to Brambleclaw and Berrynose, followed by Talonpaw.

"W-we found Shadowclan scents at the border!" Mousewhisker announced.

Brambleclaw sighed, "Really? Where were they?"

"By the greenleaf twolegplace," the gray tom replied.

"There again?" Berrynose stepped forward and snorted indignantly. "Why do they care so much about that useless piece of land?"

"ThunderClan were the ones to steal it back in that battle, anyways," Brambleclaw pointed out.

"All because of Ivypool's supposed 'dream'," Berrynose said.

_I remember hearing about that battle._ Talonpaw thought. As a kit, he recalled a time when the elders spoke of a huge battle between Shadowclan and Thunderclan. Apparently, Lionblaze had accidentally killed Russetfur, the old Shadowclan deputy, and Firestar had lost a life. They said neither clan had won that day.

"If we're lucky, this won't get up to that same scale," Mousewhisker mewed.

"I guess we should go check it out. How many cats are on your patrol?" Brambleclaw questioned Mousewhisker.

"I'm with Bumblestripe, Whitewing, and Spiderleg," the tom answered. "It wouldn't hurt to have some backup if we run into a patrol, though."

_Am I going to be in a battle? _Talonpaw had never been in a real battle before, so he was pretty excited to get a chance to test out his skills. He turned to Flowerpaw, and saw her nearly jumping out of her fur.

"Are you two alright?" Brambleclaw asked Talonpaw and Flowerpaw.

"I'm good!" Talonpaw replied.

"I was born ready!" Flowerpaw chirped, batting at the air with both front paws.

"That's not very reassuring," Berrynose sighed. "We should bring them though. It could be a good opportunity for them to test out their skills.

_Exactly what I was thinking! _

"Then this sparring match is postponed until further notice. No cat has won yet," Brambleclaw told them.

"I was totally about to win!" Flowerpaw whispered.

"You were not!" Talonpaw hissed back, although he knew she was right.

"Okay, Mousewhisker, lead the way!" Brambleclaw mewed. Mousewhisker nodded and pelted away into the undergrowth, followed by Talonpaw, Flowerpaw, and their mentors.

**I hope you enjoyed that chapter! I sense a storm brewing, and where do storms come from? The sky! Don't forget to leave a review, or an OC!**


	6. Chapter 6

**I'm back and ready for some more writing! I hope you like this chapter!**

Chapter 5

Talonpaw pelted after his mentor as fast as his legs could carry him. The trees and bushes flashed by him like a wall of green. Sharp brambles ripped at his pelt, but he ignored the pain and pushed on, leaving red and gray tufts of fur on the thorns.

_Will we really have to battle Shadowclan? _Talonpaw wondered. Would the Shadowclan cats be as cruel as the elders portrayed them in their stories? If so, he wasn't so sure he was ready to face one of them alone. _I'm not alone. _He had his clanmates to help him and protect him, so he shouldn't be worried.

"It looks like some of the spring has been taken out of your step, Talonpaw!" Flowerpaw mewed, racing up beside him. "Are you scared of a few Shadowclan cats?"

"Of course not!" he protested, flicking her head with his tail.

"Yeah, right," she taunted, ducking away when he tried to cuff her over the ear. "You'll never hit me like that while we're running!"

Berrynose looked back at the two apprentices with an irritated glint in his eye. "Stop bickering, you two. This is no time for games."

"He's right, we could be running straight into an ambush." Brambleclaw told them.

_An ambush? He's just trying to quiet us down, _Talonpaw thought, slightly annoyed.

"Hey, I told you guys we found scents, not that we found a patrol!" Mousewhisker said. "Don't you think we may be jumping to conclusions?"

"How fresh was the scent?" Brambleclaw inquired, ducking under a low hanging branch.

"Fresh enough."

"Then the patrol can't be far away from where you found it!" Berrynose decided. "We should go find them and confront them!"

Talonpaw looked at Flowerpaw. She had a determined and excited look in her eyes, as if she couldn't wait to fight in a real battle, even if it just turned out to be a border skirmish. Talonpaw had to admit that he felt the same way, although he was worried that she would leap into the fight without thinking of talking to the intruders. _That's just how she is, _he reminded himself.

"That wouldn't be very smart, Berrynose. Tracking them down will most likely require entering Shadowclan territory, and the last thing we want is to do the exact same thing that we may fight them over," Brambleclaw pointed out.

"Well, we should do it anyways," the cream colored warrior replied.

"We're almost there," Mousewhisker warned.

Talonpaw couldn't help wondering what they would find when they arrived in the clearing. Would a battle have already broken out? No, that wouldn't make sense. Mousewhisker said his patrol found scent, not cats. _We should all still stay on our guard, though. _

The five cats skidded into the clearing to see the rest of Mousewhisker's patrol waiting there. There were no Shadowclan cats, and no battles going on. Talonpaw had to suppress a sigh of disappointment.

"Aw, I was expecting a full on war!" Flowerpaw complained.

Berrynose's eyes widened. "Really? I don't remember teaching you that."

The she-cat shrugged. "It was probably Lionblaze."

Brambleclaw cuffed Flowerpaw roughly over the ear. "Respect your clanmates! Lionblaze would never wish for something like that."

Talonpaw purred with amusement at Flowerpaw's boldness. "So, are we going to deal with that Shadowclan scent thing now?"

"Right!" Mousewhisker ran over to the rest of his patrol. "Have you figured anything out yet?"

"Not much," Whitewing mewed. "Although we've recognized a few of the scents as Ratscar and Owlclaw. There's a few more, but we can't tell who they might be."

"Let me look. I'm one of the best trackers in ThunderClan, after all," Berrynose mewed, striding confidently over to them.

"Yeah, right," Flowerpaw whispered sarcastically in Talonpaw's ear.

"He just wishes he was the best, but no cat can track better than Cloudtail!" Talonpaw replied.

"I think I've found something!" Berrynose announced, raising his head importantly.

"What is it?" Spiderleg questioned, straightening up.

"ShadowClan scent."

Brambleclaw sighed heavily. "Mouse-brain! We knew that already!"

Berrynose shrugged. "I know, but I was just telling you."

Brambleclaw pushed past the cream-colored warrior to scent it for himself. "You're right," he turned to Mousewhisker and the rest of the patrol. "I don't scent anyone in particular."

"We should probably report back to Firestar, then," Mousewhisker decided.

"I think we should go find Blackstar and ask him why his warriors are crossing our border!" Bumblestripe countered.

_That would be a bad idea, _Talonpaw thought. _Those ShadowClan cats would rip a patrol like this to shreds!_

"No, we'll report back to Firestar," Whitewing told him. "It isn't smart to provoke a fight for a cause that isn't worth the battle."

"The scent could have also just drifted across the border. Just because we found scent doesn't mean that ShadowClan crossed into our territory," Brambleclaw added.

Talonpaw breathed a sigh of relief. He hadn't been sure he was ready for his first battle, but Flowerpaw obviously thought otherwise.

"Oh, come on! Can't we listen to Bumblestripe? There's plenty of sense in what he's saying!" Flowerpaw protested as she bounced around the warriors.

"Don't listen to Bumblestripe, he's just a naive young warrior," Berrynose reassured his apprentice.

"Hey, that's not fair!" Bumblestripe mewed indignantly. "I'm not _that _much younger than you!"

"Young enough," Berrynose responded smugly.

"That's enough bickering, we need to bring this news back to Firestar,"Brambleclaw told them, pushing the two warriors apart before they could lunge at each other.

"Right!" they said in unison.

The group of cats soon made it back to the ThunderClan camp. Talonpaw followed Brambleclaw and the rest of the patrol to where Firestar was sharing tongues with Sandstorm.

"Firestar," Brambleclaw said. "May we have a word with you?"

"Of course," Firestar replied. His voice was shaky, and his eyes were tired.

_What did he see at the Moonpool? _Talonpaw wondered. The same look of worry was on Flowerpaw's face as well. Sandstorm nodded in acknowledgement and padded over to the warriors den. There was a flash of concern in the ginger she-cat's eye as she left, leading Talonpaw to believe she shared their thoughts.

"Let's talk in my den," Firestar suggested. Without waiting for an answer, he stood up stiffly and bounded up the Highledge to his den.

Brambleclaw and the other cats started to follow him, but Flowerpaw cut them off. "Can I come too?"

The deputy shook his head. "No, there's no need to bring all of you." He gestured to the rest of the patrol to stay out as well.

"Aw, why not?" Flowerpaw asked indignantly, scraping up the grass with her claws.

Talonpaw wondered why she couldn't just accept that she was wrong sometimes and not argue. He rolled his eyes.

"Because he said so," Berrynose told her firmly.

"You're just mad because he told you to stay behind as well," Flowerpaw taunted her mentor.

_Bad plan! _Talonpaw thought. He was just about to shut Flowerpaw up before she said any more, but Berrynose was too quick.

"That's it," he huffed. "You're going to be cleaning out the elder's bedding and getting out their ticks until sundown!"

Flowerpaw's mischievous gaze melted into surprise and anger. "You can't do that!" she spluttered.

"Flowerpaw," Brambleclaw meowed. "Give it a rest."

Flowerpaw sighed and walked over to the medicine den with her head down.

"Did you need to be so harsh with her?" Mousewhisker asked the cream-colored tom.

"She needs to learn her place," Berrynose replied. He whipped around and stalked his way over to the fresh-kill pile, where he violently ripped a vole from the bottom, getting an irritated snort out of Mousefur, who was about to grab the same prey.

"Er, see you guys later," Talonpaw said. He wanted to go and see how Flowerpaw was doing after seeing her run off like that. He first padded his way to the medicine den, and peeked his head inside.

"What do you want?" Jayfeather asked him. The gray tom's sightless eyes burned into his fur, making him shift around uncomfortably.

"I came to see if Flowerpaw was here," he replied.

"She just came for some mouse-bile, but now she's gone to help with the elders," Briarlight explained, scooting over to Talonpaw.

He dipped his head in thanks and bounded over to the fallen tree and weaved his way through the twigs until he reached a part in the branches where the elders had their nests.

"Make sure to get the one down by my rear, young 'un. I can't reach it myself," Talonpaw heard Purdy instructing.

Flowerpaw groaned audibly.

"You'd better respect your elders, Flowerpaw," Talonpaw told her, padding over.

Flowerpaw straightened up a bit. "Oh, hi Talonpaw. I was just about to start going through Purdy's ticks."

"Want me to help?" he offered.

"Sure!" Flowerpaw chirped.

"You may have just made a mistake, Talonwhatsit. Mousefur's gonna be back soon, and she seemed like she was covered in ticks," Purdy told him.

Talonpaw suppressed a shiver. "I think I'll be able to handle it."

He and Flowerpaw set to work applying the mouse-bile to the ticks. "I feel like I'm going to vomit!" Flowerpaw announced.

"It's like that every time," Talonpaw replied as he pushed the repulsive stick up to a large tick by Purdy's hindquarters.

"Thanks, young 'un. That one was really bothering me," Purdy mewed. He shifted around in his nest, getting a squeak from Flowerpaw.

"Did you really have to do that? Now I've gotten bile in my chest fur!" Flowerpaw asked indignantly. She rubbed her chest roughly against the sandy floor of the den.

"Sorry," Purdy mewed, unphased by the angry apprentice.

"This is mouse-dung," Flowerpaw muttered. She tried to lick the bile off of her chest, but pulled back immediately and broke into a coughing fit. "That's vile!"

"Hey, at least it's better then getting assigned to it for a quarter-moon. Mousefur told me that happened to Firestar all the time!" Talonpaw mewed reassuringly.

"Really? I can't see him doing anything bad at this point!" Flowerpaw said wondrously.

Talonpaw shrugged. "It happened, that's all I know."

Flowerpaw's gaze changed from frustration to content. "Thanks, Talonpaw."

**I know, I know, hold your applause! I hope you enjoyed that chapter, and stay tuned for the next one!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Now the time has arrived for another chapter of SkyClan's Return! Stuff will happen, Flowerpaw will be mean to Talonpaw, and things will be done! As usual, I guess.**

Chapter 6

"Warriors of ThunderClan!" Firestar called from the highledge. "Blackstar has declared war, so we will meet his call!"

Talonpaw shifted around excitedly next to Flowerpaw. "I can't believe we're going to be part of a battle!"

"Stop that fidgeting, would you? I'd hate to waste my skills and energy in holding you down," Flowerpaw replied with a humorous tone.

Half a moon had passed since Mousewhisker's patrol had discovered ShadowClan scent over the border in the clearing, and since then ThunderClan had increased their patrols. Even so, the ShadowClan scent kept coming, and it strayed further inside the border each time. Sometimes there would even be scattered feathers or blood on the ground that reeked of ShadowClan. Firestar had sent a patrol to question Blackstar, but the ShadowClan leader had denied all of their accusations. Eventually, a border skirmish broke out between patrols, and after that, Blackstar had declared war on ThunderClan.

Firestar continued his speech. "We will depart at sunrise tomorrow, and bring the fight to them."

A chorus of supportive yowls could be heard from the Clan.

"Blackstar had better stay away from our borders!" Cloudtail announced. "I'll rip those ShadowClan thieves to shreds!"

"They have to right to steal from us!" Dustpelt agreed.

Talonpaw looked around. Most of the clan looked prepared to race straight in to ShadowClan's territory, but he knew that his clanmates had more sense than that.

"Our strategy will be similar to our previous battles. We will send a patrol of strong cats, and then once those cats are worn out, we will follow it up with another fully-fit patrol to surprise them," Firestar said.

"Who will be going?" Ivypool spoke up.

"The first patrol will consist of Foxleap, Rosepetal,Brackenfur, Ivypool, Lionblaze, Mousewhisker, Berrynose, Cinderheart, Dustpelt, Me, Seedpaw, Lilypaw, and Flowerpaw," he told the clan.

"Ooh, I get to be in the first attack with Firestar!" Flowerpaw chirped. She looked at Talonpaw. "I guess you're on the second patrol."

"Yeah, I am," he replied, trying to sound disappointed. "But the second patrol is always the one that finishes them off!"

"Not if we beat them before you get there," Flowerpaw retorted. She cuffed Talonpaw over the ear and they broke out into a mass of rolling fur and claws.

"Hey, stop that, you two!" Brambleclaw meowed sternly. He pushed his way in between them just before Talonpaw got a good swipe in. "How could you fight at a time like this?"

They didn't answer. "I would've totally beaten you," Talonpaw muttered.

"In your dreams! You couldn't beat a kit!" Flowerpaw shot back.

Brambleclaw sighed. "The apprentices these days don't know their manners."

"You sound like an elder, you know that?" Squirrelflight told him, who was sitting a few tail-lengths away.

Brambleclaw sniffed. "It'll be a while yet before that happens."

Talonpaw knew that Brambleclaw had been mentored by Firestar himself long ago, back when the Clans lived in their old home, and he could see flecks of gray growing on the deputy's muzzle. He pushed the thought away. _Like he says, it'll be a while yet._

"The second patrol will be Spiderleg, Thornclaw, Millie, Cloudtail, Blossomfall, Toadstep, Squirrelflight, Birchfall, Brambleclaw, Graystripe, Talonpaw, and Fallowpaw. The rest of you can stay back and guard the camp in case they attack here."

Firestar leapt down from the highledge. "You can return to your duties."

Just as quickly as the clan had gathered, they split up again.

"Hey, Talonpaw!" Brambleclaw called from near the camp entrance. He was with Ivypool, Hazeltail, and Bumblestripe. "We're going hunting."

"Coming!" Talonpaw nodded and bounded over to them, all thoughts of the battle gone from his head.

ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ

"Talonpaw, Talonpaw!" a paw prodded his side.

_Wha… is it morning? _He placed his forepaws over his muzzle. "Just let me sleep."

The paw started prodding him harder. "We're going to battle!"

Everything rushed back into Talonpaw's head. Blackstar declaring war, and the meeting the day before. _We're going to fight ShadowClan! _He sat bolt upright, fully alert. "Are we leaving now?"

Flowerpaw looked at him, amused. "You're on the second patrol, remember? I'm the one who's leaving now."

He frowned, wishing he could go with Flowerpaw. "Well, you have fun beating up ShadowClan, then."

"Stupid furball, you still get to fight," Flowerpaw pointed out. "Not to mention that you get to go with Fallowpaw."

Talonpaw brightened up a bit when he remembered he was going with a friend. "I guess you're right. We get to go with you as well, but we hang back until you start getting tired."

Flowerpaw started padding out of the den. "That's right, you get to watch me kick ShadowClan tail, and then come in for sloppy seconds. How proud will Brambleclaw be that his apprentice defeated some worn and beat ShadowClan warriors?"

"Hey, I bet you guys'll need our help by that time! We're going to swoop in and save you!" he protested.

By the time Talonpaw had finished, Flowerpaw had left.

_Thinks she's so great? _Talonpaw thought, taking a moment to wash his gray and red flecked fur. _I'll prove to her I'm the best apprentice in ThunderClan!_

"Okay, so the first patrol will attack, and we'll sit back and hide for a little while. When the first patrol is worn out, we attack from multiple strategic angles and catch ShadowClan by surprise," Brambleclaw was explaining the battle plan to Talonpaw.

"Don't forget the tree thing," Cloudtail meowed as he was passing by.

_The tree thing?_

"Right," Brambleclaw agreed, "We're planning to have a chosen group of cats hide up in the trees at a certain point, and then drop down on ShadowClan from the canopy. The last time we battled them this worked, so we're hoping that the same will apply this time."

"That sounds great!" Talonpaw exclaimed. "Who will be doing it?" He hoped that he would be chosen for something as cool as that. He had recently been getting rather good at tree climbing, and he thought he would be perfect for the job.

"I'm not sure yet, but Firestar says they'll be from the second patrol," Brambleclaw responded.

_Even better!_ He bounded away without another word to Brambleclaw. He was hoping to find Firestar and ask him if he could go. Looking around, he saw the orange tom standing on the Highledge, looking ready to announce something. _This must be it!_

"The cats on tree patrol will be…"

Talonpaw growled in frustration when Icecloud blocked him from seeing Firestar, causing his leader's words to be too difficult to hear.

Flowerpaw came dashing over to him. "Isn't this great?"

"What?" Talonpaw replied, bewildered.

"You're on tree patrol!" She told him as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Talonpaw gave a little bounce of satisfaction. He was glad to have been picked, but now a dark cloud of nervousness about his first battle was building up inside of him. Would he be any match for a ShadowClan cat? "That's cool," he mewed to Flowerpaw, then raced away to find his mother, Brightheart. His worries were still getting worse, and he wanted to find out if his mother or father would ever be scared before a battle.

"Oh, Talonpaw, what do you need?" Brightheart mewed when he skidded to a halt in front of her.

Talonpaw licked his chest in embarrassment. _How do I say this? _"Are you ever… scared before a battle?"

Brightheart looked at him, almost seeming amused. "Of course!"

Talonpaw was surprised. Why would a full-blown warrior be scared? "Are you sure?"

Talonpaw's mother licked his ear affectionately. "Even the strongest of warriors would be a fool to not be scared." she explained. "Being nervous before a battle is completely natural. I'm not on your patrol, but I'm sure you'll be fine."

"Thanks," Talonpaw mewed, comforted by his mother's words.

"Any time."

Despite what his mother had said, Talonpaw was still plenty nervous for the battle. He shook himself, angry that he was so weak. _I just need to go straight into this battle instead of overthinking it, _he decided. _Now to find my patrol. _

He looked around for a moment, then realized he didn't know who was on the patrol with him, meaning he would need to find a cat that did. He walked up to Brackenfur, then spoke. "Do you know who's on tree patrol with me?"

The tom turned around from talking to Thornclaw. "Oh, hello Talonpaw. I believe it was Foxleap, Birchfall, Fallowpaw, Blossomfall, and Squirrelflight."

_Good, I'm still with Fallowpaw, _Talonpaw thought, relieved. "Thanks, Brackenfur."

"Uh huh," Brackenfur said, turning back to Thornclaw, who was demonstrating how he would shred ShadowClan and hadn't noticed Brackenfur wasn't paying attention.

Talonpaw searched the camp for his patrol, then finally found them preparing to leave by the entrance.

"Talonpaw, there you are!" Blossomfall meowed when he approached. "You're the last one, so we can move out as soon as the first patrol does."

"Great," Talonpaw replied. Something was stirring in his chest. It was a feeling of intense anticipation and determination like Talonpaw had never felt before, and he knew it was abut the battle.

_I'm finally having my first battle, and I'll show every cat in ShadowClan that they've no right to trespass in our territory! _

**(A/N) Alright people, so while I was writing this I read book one in Vision of Shadows, and without spoiling anything, it used my plot a little bit. HOWEVER, this is a fanfiction, and it's clearly not canon, so I will continue it either way with a few minor changes to the plot.**

**Anyways, hope you enjoyed, and don't forget to REVIEW!**


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